Southampton 4-0 Arsenal PLAYERS RATINGS: Sadio Mane is star man for hosts as Laurent Koscielny puts in poor display
- Arsenal squandered the chance to move to top of the Premier League
- Cuco Martina, Shane Long and Jose Fonte scored goals for Southampton
- Defender Laurent Koscielny endured an uncharacteristically poor match
- Sadio Mane was Southampton's most influential player on Boxing Day
Arsenal missed the opportunity to move top of the Premier League after Arsene Wenger's men were thrashed by Southampton on Boxing Day.
Cuco Martina netted in the first half before two goals from Shane Long either side of Jose Fonte's second-half header secured a surprise win for Ronald Koeman's side at St Mary's.
Here, Nick Callow rates both sets of players following the festive fixture.
Southampton (4-2-3-1)
Stekelenburg 6: Looked a bit edgy at the beginning of his on his return to the starting line-up but settled well enough.
Martina 7: Made a remarkable impact on his first Premier League start with a goal to remember.
Van Dijk 6: Dealt well with Giroud and rarely looked uncomfortable.
Virgil van Dijk (third right) dealt well with the Arsenal attack and rarely looked uncomfortable on Boxing Day
Fonte 6: Did not marshall his defence too well in the first half but made up for it after the break.
Bertrand 6.5: Saw off the threat of Joel Campbell, and then did the same to Theo Walcott when he switched to his side of the pitch.
Clasie 6.5: Strong tackling and full of running until he limped off with an injury just before Southampton's third (sub Romeu 67).
Wanyama 7: Determined performance and powerful in the tackle to ensure Arsenal did not dominate key areas.
Victor Wanyama (right) produced determined performance and ensured Arsenal did not dominate key areas
Steven Davis 6: Nothing special, but did his job without fault in midfield.
Ward-Prowse 7: Strong on the ball and worried the Arsenal defence when he ran at goal (sub Tadic 71).
Mane 8.5: Too good for Arsenal on the night and Southampton's most influential player (sub Junanmi 81).
Star man Sadio Mane (centre) was too good for Arsenal on the night and Southampton's most influential player
Long 7.5: Made life difficult for the Arsenal defenders, and after a shaky start terrorised the Arsenal defenders.
Subs not used: Gazzaniga, Yoshida, Ramirez, Caulker.
Arsenal (4-2-3-1)
Cech 6: Badly let down by his defence though not his normal commanding self.
Petr Cech was badly let down by defence though the Arsenal goalkeeper was not his normal commanding self
Bellerin 6: Full of running on the right, one of Arsenal's best attacking options from right-back Mertesacker 5: Weak clearance for Southampton's opener, caught out of position and beaten for pace too easily and too often by Long.
Koscielny 5: An uncharacteristically poor match from one of Arsenal's more reliable players this season.
Monreal 5: Struggled to cope with the physicality of Southampton's play and ineffective going forward.
Nacho Monreal (left) struggled to cope with the physicality of Southampton's play and ineffective going forward
Flamini 6: Full of heart and running, but unable to stamp his authority on midfield (sub Chambers 73).
Ramsey 6.5: Great work-rate and improved passing, but lacked the spark of the injured Santi Cazorla.
Campbell 5: One of the least effective matches from the Costa Rican international during his current run in the side (sub Oxlade-Chamberlain 64).
Arsenal's Joel Campbell (right) endured one of the least effective matches during his current run in the side
Ozil 6: Arsenal needed their best player to run the match, but he faded and seemed to miss the support of injured team-mate Alexis Sanchez.
Walcott 6.5: Tried to impress against his former club, but rarely a genuine threat (sub Iwobi 78).
Giroud 5.5: Did his best to lead the line, but rarely a threat and match to forget for the French striker.
Subs not used: Ospina, Gibbs, Gabriel, Reine-Adelaide.
Referee: J. Moss 6.5/10 occasionally a bit fussy, but did not seem to make any significant mistakes.
Mesut Ozil (left) and Olivier Giroud (right) also endured matches to forget for Arsenal against Southampton
Arsenal missed the chance to go top of the Premier League as they were thrashed by Southampton at St Mary's.
Saints full-back Cuco Martina marked his first league start with a stunning goal, curling in from 30 yards out.
Arsenal's Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott missed free headers, before Shane Long finished from close range and Jose Fonte headed in the third.
Striker Long struck the post with three minutes remaining, but managed to add a fourth through the legs of Petr Cech.
It could have been even worse for the visitors. Virgil van Dijk had a header ruled out for offside, while Dusan Tadic's dipping strike was pushed away by Cech.
Super Saints but Gunners' sinners
Arsenal had lost just one of their previous 11 league games and recorded an impressive victory over Manchester City on Monday but Arsene Wenger's side could not back that performance up with victory on the south coast.
Having seen leaders Leicester beaten by Liverpool earlier in the day, the Gunners would have gone top with a win but were resoundingly beaten by a rampant Southampton side.
Playmaker Mesut Ozil - who has received plenty of plaudits for his impressive performances this season - was kept quiet by the Southampton midfield, while former Saint Walcott posed little threat, attempting only 20 passes before being substituted.
Going into the game, Arsenal had conceded the joint-fewest number of goals (14) in the league this season and their second-half capitulation will be a big worry to Wenger.
Arsenal need to win games against teams in the bottom half of the table if they are to take the title, but did not come close to capitalising on the points dropped by Claudio Ranieri's side.
'Bully' Wanyama gives Arsenal no respite
The pressure was starting to grow on Southampton boss Ronald Koeman after five winless games left them just four points above the relegation zone.
But they were marshalled brilliantly in the middle of the park by the superb Victor Wanyama, who made a match-high six tackles and 10 interceptions, often bullying the opposition players.
The opening goal was stunning. There seemed to be no danger when defender Per Mertesacker headed the ball away, and Martina steadied himself before unleashing an outside-of-the-foot drive which started wide of the post before swerving into the net.
Arsenal posed little threat and the hosts added to their tally with a slick counter-attacking move.
There was a hint of controversy in it though, as Long and Laurent Koscielny came together in the build-up, leaving the Frenchman on the ground, allowing Long to stride forward unchallenged and stroke in from Sadio Mane's pass.
Defender Fonte added a bullet header and Long grabbed his second to complete a comprehensive victory for Southampton who managed their first clean sheet in six games.
Man of the match - Shane Long
What they said:
Southampton manager Ronald Koeman: "You don't expect a 4-0 win against Arsenal. Of course we have a good football team, but we have struggled in recent weeks. But the second half was perfect. It was a tough night for Arsenal, we caused them a lot of problems. It was an amazing result."
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger: "It's a disappointing result but I have to say well done to Southampton. The referee let a lot go but when you're not dominant in challenges that is the price you have to pay."
What next?
It's a quick turnaround for both sides. Southampton travel to West Ham on Monday (17:30 GMT), while Arsenal will look to get back to winning ways when they host Bournemouth on the same day (also 17:30 GMT).
The stats you need to know
- This was Arsenal's heaviest Premier League defeat since a 6-0 away loss at Chelsea in March 2014
- Arsenal have conceded five Premier League goals from outside the box in 2015-16 so far; two more than in the whole of the 2014-15 season
- Southampton winger Sadio Mane has six assists in 18 Premier League appearances this season - he had only three in 30 league games last season
- Shane Long has scored five and assisted two more goals in his last seven Premier League starts for Southampton
LINEUP, BOOKINGS (1) & SUBSTITUTIONS (6)
Southampton
- 22 Stekelenburg
- 15 Martina
- 06 Fonte
- 17 van Dijk
- 21 Bertrand
- 12 Wanyama
- 04 Clasie (Romeu - 67' )
- 16 Ward-Prowse (Tadic - 71' )
- 10 Mané (Juanmi - 81' )
- 08 Davis
- 07 Long Booked
Substitutes
- 03 Yoshida
- 11 Tadic
- 14 Romeu
- 20 Juanmi
- 23 Ramírez
- 25 Gazzaniga
- 26 Caulker
Arsenal
- 33 Cech
- 24 Bellerín
- 04 Mertesacker
- 06 Koscielny
- 18 Monreal
- 16 Ramsey
- 20 Flamini (Chambers - 73' )
- 28 Campbell (Oxlade-Chamberlain - 64' )
- 11 Özil
- 14 Walcott (Iwobi - 78' )
- 12 Giroud
Substitutes
- 03 Gibbs
- 05 Gabriel
- 13 Ospina
- 15 Oxlade-Chamberlain
- 21 Chambers
- 45 Iwobi
- 54 Reine Adelaide
Ref: Jonathan Moss
Att: 31,669
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